How Mastercard is investing in AI for a better future

AI can be scary. From life-like chatbots to highly accurate predictions, there is a lot to be nervous about in the future of AI. However, the technology has some valuable upsides as well. Many industries such as banking are investing massive amounts of money into AI for the future.

In the banking industry, fraud is a massive problem. In fact, fraud losses are estimated to hit almost $50 billion by 2030. This money is being stolen directly from the general populace. If you have ever had any sort of credit card fraud happen to you, you know how devastating and frustrating it can be. Calling banks, canceling your card, trying to get your money back, and getting a new card are all time-consuming steps that are necessary after such an event. 68% of card fraud losses in 2020 were related to online transactions, and big banks are starting to fight against them.

Master card recently invested $300 million into Network, a company that focuses on creating AI to fight these fraudulent transactions as they happen. These AI can use data from millions of transactions to create personalized user patterns. Once this AI knows what your purchasing habits and patterns are, it is able to detect any big variances and flag them before they go through. If it turns out that it was actually the user who initiated the transaction, a simple call to the bank will let this transaction happen again. If successful, this fraud protection system will save both users and the bank billions of dollars. A $300 million investment doesn’t look like much when compared to those numbers.

There are many ways that AI is actively improving your life. The news stories love to report on “doomsday scenarios”, but the reality is that AI is focusing on creating a better future for everyone. I am optimistic that AI will continue to improve to make the world a safer place. With perfect AI systems, there would never be a need to worry about fraudulent credit card transactions happening to you, and you can relax in peace.